DEEP THOUGHTS

Interesting think piece on WikiLeaks, technology, and government

http://mydd.com/users/trey-rentz/posts/the-lesson-of-wikileaks

More: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/11/a_first_take_on_the_cables.php

http://www.slate.com/id/2276188/

http://www.slate.com/id/2276198/

Further reflections on government secrecy, classification, and the wider implications of open access to government information

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/11/one_solution_to_wikileaks_clas.html
One solution to WikiLeaks: classify less

More: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/11/secrecy.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026826.php

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/thoughts-about-wikileaks

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/long-term-consequences-of-leaked-diplomatic-cables/

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/transparency-and-diplomacy/

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/war-and-speech/

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/11/uncategorized/of-wikileaks-and-the-pentagon-papers/

http://www.slate.com/id/2276180

Now, similar deep thoughts from the Republican side

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/peter-king-declare-wikileaks-a-terrorist-organization.php
Peter King: Declare Wikileaks A Terrorist Organization

More: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/11/29/politicians_pundits_and_wikileaks

Coming soon: WikiLeaks to take on the private sector

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/wikileaks-and-private-sector

Looks like the Dems are going to hold a vote on a middle class (only) tax cut. Now, can they pass it?

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/11/looks_like_theyre_gonna_do_it.php

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/29/924010/-House-vote-on-middle-class-tax-cuts-likely-this-week

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/11/29/tax-battle-begins-with-no-democratic-consensus/

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026838.php

Lifting the ceiling? http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/tax-cuts-for-millionaires-an-expensive-proposition.php

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026830.php

Obama’s proposed federal pay freeze: smart politics, bad policy?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/dems-split-on-obama-federal-pay-freeze-plan.php
Dems Split On Obama Plan To Freeze Federal Pay

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/everyone-hates-obamas-pay-freeze-planexcept-republicans.php
Everyone Hates Obama's Pay Freeze Plan... Except Republicans

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/with-friends-like-these-when-only.html
When the only people who defend you are the Villagers, you know you're on the wrong track . .

http://my.firedoglake.com/scarecrow/2010/11/29/obama-flunks-economics-with-pointless-federal-wage-freeze/
Obama Flunks Economics with Pointless Federal Wage Freeze

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/11/29/responsible-obama-administration-doesnt-think-federal-employees-facing-pay-cut-will-leave-to-the-private-sector/
“Responsible” Obama Administration Doesn’t Think Federal Employees Facing Pay Cut Will Leave to the Private Sector

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/29/923954/-Federal-worker-pay-freeze-is-unjustified-and-ineffective
Federal worker pay freeze is unjustified and ineffective

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/pay-freeze-message
[Kevin Drum] I have to agree with the consensus on the left that in the particular case of President Obama's decision today to freeze federal pay, it's not going to work. On a substantive level, it's far too small to have any serious effect. On a messaging level, I simply can't believe that anybody is going to care. Obama seems endlessly besotted with the idea that he can use small executive decisions (supporting nuclear power, allowing offshore drilling, freezing federal pay, etc.) as a way of convincing the electorate that he's really a moderate, but there's no evidence that suggests this stuff has even the slightest impact. And it's certainly not going to make a dent on the Republican caucus in Congress. I really have no idea what the point of this kind of thing is.

http://www.slate.com/id/2276189
Don't Freeze Federal Pay. Cut It.

Crisis management

http://www.slate.com/id/2276187/
The presidency has become one emergency after another. How should Obama handle it?

Spineless

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/collins-the-bushes-should-green-light-start-treaty.php
[Brian Beutler] Today in outrageous new benchmarks for bipartisanship, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) says she'd be more likely to vote to ratify the START Treaty if former Presidents, George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush were to speak out in support of it. . . . [read on]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/29/susan-collins-cant-make-u_n_789279.html
[Jason Linkins] It's almost comical at this point. . . [read on]

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/29/923973/-Susan-Collins-demonstrates-bipartisanship:-Wants-Bushes-OK-on-START
As Steve Benen points out, Richard Lugar, Brent Scowcroft, Henry Kissinger, James Baker, Reagan Secretary of State George Schultz, Reagan Chief of Staff Kenneth Duberstein, Reagan Chief of Staff Howard Baker, and Colin Powell--all of whom have urged ratification of the new START treaty--aren't enough . . .

More: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/11/29/susan_collins_bush_start

Shameless

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/fox-news-my-favorite-lieberman-declares
Fox News 'is my favorite,' Lieberman declares

Bonus item: “News”

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/29/923970/-Fake-War-on-Christmas:-Fox-falsely-claims-school-banned-colors-red-and-green
Fox falsely claims school banned colors red and green

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

LEAKS

Another WikiLeaks blockbuster

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/28/AR2010112802395.html
A vast treasure trove of secret State Department cables obtained by the Web site WikiLeaks has exposed the inner workings of U.S. diplomacy, as well as bluntly candid assessments by American diplomats . . . [read on!]

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/breaking-wikileaks-releases-us-embass
And the fur will start flying. . .

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/yet-more-tedious-american-secrets
Andrew Sullivan actually thought the cables showed that the State Department is on the ball: "Overall, I have to say that this brief glimpse into how the government actually works is actually reassuring. The cable extracts are often sharp, smart, candid and penetrating. Who knew the US government had so many talented diplomats?" . . . [read on]

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/bomb_bomb_iran_the_top_5_shocking_things_about_the.php
The Top 5 Most Shocking Things About The Wikileaks

On bombing Iran: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/bombing-iran

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/bombing-iran-part-2

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/putin-berlusconi

Are leaks like this a problem or not?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/wikileak-fall-out.html

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/what-is-hidden-and-what-is-revealed-2

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026826.php

http://www.americablog.com/2010/11/should-wikileaks-have-released.html

Disaster brewing in the EU?

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AO2ZX20101126?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r1:c0.130000:b39860102:z0

http://my.firedoglake.com/richardlyon/2010/11/28/the-keystone-kops-of-the-european-union/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/opinion/29krugman.html

Robots in the military

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/robotic-warriors/

The theocrat/teabagger nexus

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/meet-our-newest-theocrat-mr-lee-goes-to.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/tea-party-priorities.html

Whither the GOP?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026818.php

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/stockman-bush-administration-and-paulson-d

David Broder, still running the ridiculous line that the failure of bipartisanship in Washington is Obama’s failure

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026821.php
[Steve Benen] A week ago, David Broder mentioned in his Washington Post column that, in the post-midterm environment, there hasn't been any hint of Republicans' "willingness to compromise." I was glad to see him notice.

But those insights didn't last. Today, Broder ponders whether President Obama will finally try bipartisan compromise with those who refuse to compromise. . . [read on]

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/village-acid-trip-broder-edition.html
[Digby] This may be the most absurd column David Broder has ever run. And that's saying something. In fact think it may go beyond anything a pundit has ever written, diving headlong into a fiction so ridiculous you have to wonder if he's joking -- or insane . . . [read on]

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/hillary-clinton-on-pat-downs-not-if-i-could-avoid-it.php

Can cable news actually do NEWS any more?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/cable-news-is-missing-in-action-but.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST?

The GOP had a pretty good fall campaign – though not as devastating as they had hoped for. Now it’s being painted as an historic event, a mandate, and a sea change of public sentiment on Obama and the Dems. Guess what? It wasn’t

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/polarization-era.html

More: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/gop-symbolism

Today’s Republicans: only the best and the brightest

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/meet-the-five-incoming-republicans-who-have-gop-leaders-sweating-bullets.php
With scores of new members, many untested in politics, coming to Washington, it's inevitable that at least a few will keep leadership awake at night, wondering if and how they might embarrass the party. Everyone's been put on notice, but here are five GOPers who, given their past scrapes, will likely be getting the gimlet eye from the top brass. . . . [read on]

Why nobody can win the GOP presidential nomination

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/eye-on-2012/the-biggest-vulnerability-for.html
The biggest vulnerability for each GOP presidential hopeful . . .

The kind of people they are

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/tea-party-stalker.html
[Minnesota] State Rep. Tom Hackbarth was stopped by police earlier this month in the Planned Parenthood parking lot in Highland Park after he was spotted with gun near his waistband . . . [read on!]

DR’s Corner: An interesting spring?

So, in April we've got an epic fiscal showdown in the US government, which will very likely result in a shutdown period for the US government:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7310626.html

In February, German courts may nix support for the Euro Financial Stability Facility, which may actually be substantially underfunded:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8160999/EU-rescue-costs-start-to-threaten-Germany-itself.html

Afghan violence is at an all-time high, and escalating:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-11/24/c_13619361.htm

The truce on the Korean Peninsula is only hanging on by a thread, as North Korea seeks to damage the US economy by causing China to take less action to support the US dollar.

The Iraqi insurgents who we've been paying to not fight are now re-posturing for a civil war because we're now not paying them off any more.

It almost looks like a prefect storm: War in Korea, escalating Taliban victories over NATO, the collapse of the Euro and possibly the Eurozone, civil war in Iraq, and a US government crippled with a shutdown.

February-April seems to be the time-frame. If the System™ does not lie in utter smoking ruins by the Summer Solstice then I will spend the autumn re-evaluating my understanding of things. I'll qualify that by saying that there may still be some means, all bright and shiny, by which the powers-that-be can postpone the inevitable by another short-term epoch. We shall see, this spring...

Fox News: a miserable excuse for a news operation

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/one-born-every-minute.html

I’m pretty sure Sarah!s goof on North and South Korea was just a verbal slip. But the point isn’t that she doesn’t know the difference – it’s that SHE has created a situation in which the question legitimately comes up, by continually spouting off on things she knows nothing about. But don’t tease her about it – she thinks it’s NOT FUNNY

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/26/palin_addresses_latest_gaffe.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026806.php

Bonus item: Haw, haw, haw. Sarah! derides. . . . get ready for it. . . the narcissism of politicians today

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/sisterhood-farcissism.html

More: http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/palin-rips-obama-not-using-all-vacat

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

GIVING THANKS

For George Packer’s awesome takedown of GW Bush

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/11/29/101129crbo_books_packer#ixzz16IV0QKqh
“Decision Points” will not endure. Its prose aims for tough-minded simplicity but keeps landing on simpleminded sententiousness. Though Bush credits no collaborator, his memoirs read as if they were written by an admiring sidekick who is familiar with every story Bush ever told but never got to know the President well enough to convey his inner life. Very few of its four hundred and ninety-three pages are not self-serving. Bush, honing his executive skills as part owner of the Texas Rangers, decides to fire his underperforming manager, Bobby Valentine: “I tried to deliver the news in a thoughtful way, and Bobby handled it like a professional. I was grateful when, years later, I heard him say, ‘I voted for George W. Bush, even though he fired me.’ ” At the dramatic height of the book, on the morning of September 11th, “I called Condi from the secure phone in the limo. She told me there had been a third plane crash, this one into the Pentagon. I sat back in my seat and absorbed her words. My thoughts clarified: The first plane could have been an accident. The second was definitely an attack. The third was a declaration of war. My blood was boiling. We were going to find out who did this, and kick their ass.” . . . [read on!]

[NB: Remember Bush’s fake turkey photo op?]

For Digby (and Rachel Maddow)

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/assassination-of-dr-tiller.html
[Digby] If you didn't get a chance to see Rachel Maddow's documentary "The Assassination of Dr Tiller" last night, here it is, in three parts. Watch it and then tell me how it can possibly be that Barack Obama was smeared for his alleged association with an old and long ago retired 60s radical while virtually every member of the GOP has one degree of separation from these contemporary terrorists? . . .

For Social Security, which has survived every Republican effort to destroy it (so far)

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/telling-stories-on-thanksgiving.html
It began in 1982 at the "Rebuilding Social Security" Conference at the radical-right Heritage Foundation, but the plot against Social Security was fleshed out by Butler (a Cato director) and Germanis (an analyst at Heritage) in the Fall 1983 issue of Cato's journal . . . [read on!]

For class warfare

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/american-workers-suffer-corporate-profi
As American workers suffer, corporate profits rise to historic levels

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/25/922978/-Wall-Streets-moneyed-elite-are-breathing-easier-again
"Wall Street’s moneyed elite are breathing easier again"

For Obama: it could be worse

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanks-part-ii-chris-hayes-on-msnbc.html

Much worse: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/democrats-and-liberalism

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/reality-check/

For Sarah! “A target-rich environment”

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/11/uncategorized/leave-sarah-alooooooooooooone/

Bonus item: For the wacky right

http://my.firedoglake.com/somethingthedogsaid/2010/11/25/daily-caller-columnist-let-lesbians-serve-the-striaght-soldiers-will-convert-them/
Daily Caller Columnist: Let Lesbians Serve, The Straight Soldiers Will Convert Them

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

GUILTY!

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2010/11/jury_convicts_delay_in_money_laundering_trial.php
Jury convicts DeLay in money laundering trial

More: http://crooksandliars.com/node/41845

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/11/delay.html
[Atrios] Seems ancient history now, but the DeLay thing was one of the early "things only liberal bloggers care about" while being lectured by our betters in the Village that this was all the work of a partisan (read: Democrat) prosecutor trying to criminalize politics.

The new teabagger boycott

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/tea-party-group-to-corporations-support-obama-and-well-take-you-down.php
Tea Party Group To Corporations: Support Obama And We'll Take You Down

And who’s backing them? OTHER corporations: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/kochs-armey-shakedown-crews.html

Now that the GOP has won, the Orange Man lowers expectations

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/23/boehner-seems-pretty-pess_n_787680.html

The GOP’s economic sabotage

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026797.php

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/how_should_obama_handle_gop_op.html

It depends what the meaning of “earmark” is

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/11/24/kyl-seeks-big-earmark-three-days-after-gop-earmark-ban/
Kyl Seeks Big Earmark Three Days After GOP Earmark Ban

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/24/so_much_for_the_earmark_ban.html
"Kyl's office insists the measure is not an earmark . . ."

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/did-jon-kyl-score-a-200m-earmark-three-days-after-ban.php
Experts Say It Doesn't Break GOP Ban

How “tax cut” mania has infantilized our political discourse

http://mydd.com/users/john-russonello/posts/tax-cuts-have-become-a-sick-joke

How the Bush tax cuts failed (just count the ways)

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/10-epic-failures-of-the-bush-tax-cuts

The Fox disinformation machine

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/bill-oreilly-and-glenn-beck-are-conf

Sarah! thinks she’s running against Michelle Obama (and she’s no match for her either)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/24/palin-slams-michelle-obam_n_788200.html

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/understanding-too-well/

[NB: Notice that she takes a swipe against Barbara Bush along the way.]

Does Sarah! know the difference between North and South Korea?

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/scarce/sarah-palin-weve-got-stand-out-north-korean

Stopping Sarah!

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/11/23/palin_gop_stop_2012
Some of her one-time cheerleaders suddenly seem nervous about the monster they helped create

Bonus item: Salon’s list of the thirty worst hack pundits

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/11/24/the_hack_thirty

[NB: Not bad, but how did they miss Charles Krauthammer?]

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

Away from the Internet

Hello all. I am travelling and have spotty Internet access. PBD will be on vacation for a few days, starting up again on Monday, November 29.

WHICH WAY?

The Dems still can’t get their act together

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/dems-out-of-sync-on-tax-cut-strategy.php
[Brian Beutler] After a flurry of meetings, phone calls, member-to-member discussions and public jousting with Republican leaders, Democrats left Washington on Friday aware of two key facts: Both the House and Senate will eventually vote to allow the Bush tax cuts on upper-income earners to expire; but party leaders in neither chamber have a clear path to winning that vote. And more importantly, with the White House still pressing for a bipartisan solution that can pass before the end of the year, the only thing that's certain is that nobody has any clue what the final tax cut compromise will look like. . . .

Repealing DADT – reasons for hope

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/the_morning_plum_136.html
The Pentagon's report will be released a day early, on November 30th, and it's expected to find that Don't Ask Don't Tell can be repealed with minimal impact.

This is important: The Pentagon report could remove one of the last pretexts GOP moderates have at their disposal for opposing repeal. Crucially, early release could make it easier for Senate Dems to hold the extended debate those moderates say they need to climb aboard. And as Joe Sudbay says, every day matters now.

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/joint-chiefs-chairman-congress-should-end-ga
Joint Chiefs chairman: Congress should end gay ban as soon as possible

More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/11/22/pentagon-survey-on-dadt-to-be-released-a-day-early/

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026749.php

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/psst_dadt_repeal_is_still_not.html

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/sources-two-republicans-agree-be-fina
Sources: Two Republicans Agree To Be Final Votes In Repeal Of DADT

There are no Republican moderates

http://www.americablog.com/2010/11/olympia-snowe-supports-lawsuit-against.html
[Joe Sudbay] Well, all that time wooing Olympia Snowe really paid off for Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel and Jim Messina. Not only did Snowe end up supporting the GOP filibuster and voting against the bill, she's now supporting a lawsuit against the new law, as is Susan Collins . . .

Completely irresponsible

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/22/milbank-the-gop-has-enter_n_786866.html
GOP Has Entered The 'Post-Post-9/11 Era'

Coping with the teabaggers

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026755.php
[Steve Benen] Incoming House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is well aware of the fact that his chamber is going to have to extend the federal debt limit. Late last week, he noted that's already "made it pretty clear" to his own caucus that Republicans are "going to have to deal with it as adults." He added, "Whether we like it or not, the federal government has obligations and we have obligations on our part."

How's that working out so far? Not too well. . . .

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/overton-teabags.html
Their influence is more important than their numbers . . . [read on]

More: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/appeasing-freshmen-with-showdowns-and.html

Now that the GOP is in the House majority again, suddenly they don’t think they need an Ethics Office any more

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026753.php

Apparently, they don’t think they need researchers any more either

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/climate_change_denying_report_plagiarized.php
Congressional Report Denying Climate Change Was Likely Plagiarized

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026762.php

Next up: GOP gains through redistricting

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/22/redistricting_could_add_a_dozen_gop_house_seats.html

Omaba 2012: the fact is, it’s HARD to lose as an incumbent President

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/11/incumbency_matters.php
[Josh Marshall] By my count, it's only happened three times in the last century. . . .

Cool animation: the red/blue divide, 88 years in one minute

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/11/88_years_in_one_minute.php

Alberto Gonzales plays it cute on Bush era torture

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/gonzales_i_was_aware_of_waterboarding.php
Gonzales: I Was 'Aware' Of Waterboarding

John Yoo too: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/yoo_i_said_torture_was_legal_but_it_doesnt_mean_they_shouldve_done_it_video.php
Yoo: I Said Torture Was Legal, But It Doesn't Mean They Should've Done It

Those “strict constitutionalist” Republicans go after the 14th amendment

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026756.php

You almost never hear about air travel and pollution. Well …

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/trains-planes-and-pollution/

I’m staying away from all the TSA patdown and bodyscan mania. I do a lot of traveling but I just can’t get all worked up about it. Here’s Kevin Drum’s “anti-rant,” which also shows how the GOP is making hay off the controversy

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/my-tsa-anti-rant

Matt Drudge beats the TSA

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/22/drudges_populism_moves_the_tsa.html

More: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101121/ap_on_bi_ge/us_airport_security

Rick Perry (R-TX): I’d rather be Gov of Texas than President of the United States

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/rick-perry-soon-gov-of-tx-will-be-more-powerful-than-potus-video.php

Funny paradox: Palin leads among GOP candidates, but she runs the worst against Obama

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/quinnipiac-poll-palin-narrowly-leads-2012-gop-field----and-badly-trails-obama.php
Quinnipiac Poll: Palin Narrowly Leads 2012 GOP Field -- And Badly Trails Obama

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/22/palin_runs_worst_against_obama.html
Key finding: Palin is viewed the most negatively by the American people of the possible Republican candidates in 2012. She is viewed unfavorably by 51% of voters and favorably by 36%.

Oh please, please run!

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/11/17/sarah-palin-i-can-beat-obama/
Sarah Palin: I Can Beat Obama

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/22/palin_seeking_iowa_office_space.html
Palin Seeking Iowa Office Space

More: http://www.slate.com/id/2275726

Palin: I’ll decide which journalists I talk to (and Katie Couric won’t be one of them)

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/22/palin_wont_talk_to_couric_again.html

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/22/922604/-Things-Palin-can-waste-her-time-on-instead-of-Couric

Fox News’ $40 million donation to the GOP

http://www.americablog.com/2010/11/fox-has-donated-40-million-in-air-time.html

Some people at Fox News really want to be part of a news organization, not a platform for wackos like Glenn Beck. Their boss, Roger Ailes, explains it to them

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/ailes-and-murdoch-beck-is-their-man-to.html

Bonus item: Oh, man – are we going to have to boycott Apple now?

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/memo-steve-jobs-its-mistake-do-deals-devil
Rumors are circling that News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch is teaming up with Apple CEO Steve Jobs to launch a new digital-only newspaper. Dubbed, "The Daily," the iPad project will allegedly stream right a user's device seven days a week . . . [read on]

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

WAR

COMPLETELY hypothetical, you understand

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026737.php
[Steve Benen] Consider a thought experiment. Imagine you actively disliked the United States, and wanted to deliberately undermine its economy. What kind of positions would you take to do the most damage?

You might start with rejecting the advice of economists and oppose any kind of stimulus investments. You'd also want to cut spending and take money out of the economy, while blocking funds to states and municipalities, forcing them to lay off more workers. You'd no doubt want to cut off stimulative unemployment benefits, and identify the single most effective jobs program of the last two years (the TANF Emergency Fund) so you could kill it.

You might then take steps to stop the Federal Reserve from trying to lower the unemployment rate. You'd also no doubt want to create massive economic uncertainty by vowing to gut the national health care system, promising to re-write the rules overseeing the financial industry, vowing re-write business regulations in general, considering a government shutdown, and even weighing the possibly of sending the United States into default.

You might want to cover your tracks a bit, and say you have an economic plan that would help -- a tax policy that's already been tried -- but you'd do so knowing that such a plan has already proven not to work.

More: http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/11/19/government-shutdown-in-december/

It just can’t be said often enough

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/opinion/22krugman.html
[Paul Krugman] The fact is that one of our two great political parties has made it clear that it has no interest in making America governable, unless it’s doing the governing. And that party now controls one house of Congress, which means that the country will not, in fact, be governable without that party’s cooperation — cooperation that won’t be forthcoming.

Elite opinion has been slow to recognize this reality. . . . [read on]

More: http://firedoglake.com/2010/11/21/l-a-times-obama-still-futilely-pursuing-compromises-with-republicans/

A couple of days ago, we asked what David Broder would say about the GOP’s rejection of bipartisanship. Broder always wants more bipartisanship, and routinely blames the Dems for not reaching across the aisle more. So what does he say when the Repubs are refusing to do it? He makes excuses for them, of course

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/guess-whos-trashing-place-now.html

Forcing the issue

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/20/922043/-Obama-calls-out-Senate-Republicans-on-START-obstruction
Obama calls out Senate Republicans on START obstruction

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/11/18/lugar-slams-own-party-for-stalling-on-new-start-treaty/
Lugar Slams Own Party for Stalling on New START Treaty

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026742.php
EUROPEAN ALLIES BACK OBAMA ON NEW START

Everyone says Obama should follow Clinton’s formula from 1994. Here’s why that might not work

http://firedoglake.com/2010/11/21/l-a-times-obama-still-futilely-pursuing-compromises-with-republicans/

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/21/919823/-Do-the-Democrats-remember-why-they-are-Democrats

What Americans don’t know

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/were-all-know-nothings-now.html

Onward Christian soldiers

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/sunday-sermon-from-right-wing-psycho.html
[Bryan Fischer, American Family Assocation] Christianity is not a religion of pacifism. . . . [T]he God of the Bible clearly honors those who show valor and gallantry in waging aggressive war in a just cause against the enemies of freedom, even while inflicting massive casualties in the process. What I’m saying is that it’s time we started imitating God’s example again.

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/21/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_27_n_786489.html

How do you solve a problem like Sariah?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/opinion/21rich.html
[Frank Rich] [L]ogic doesn’t apply to Palin. What might bring down other politicians only seems to make her stronger: the malapropisms and gaffes, the cut-and-run half-term governorship, family scandals, shameless lying and rapacious self-merchandising. In an angry time when America’s experts and elites all seem to have failed, her amateurism and liabilities are badges of honor. She has turned fallibility into a formula for success.

Republican leaders who want to stop her, and they are legion, are utterly baffled about how to do so. . . [read on]

More: http://www.americablog.com/2010/11/with-murdochs-help-palin-can-dance-to.html

Bonus item: Quote of the day

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/barbara-bush-i-hope-sarah-palin-stays-in-alaska-video.php
[Barbara Bush] In a taped interview scheduled to air Monday on "Larry King Live," Bush was asked for her thoughts on the former vice presidential candidate.

"I sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful, and I think she's very happy in Alaska, and I hope she'll stay there," Barbara Bush said.

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

LEARNING FROM YOUR MISTAKES

Obama 2011: What should he do now?

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/obama-2011

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/how_should_obama_handle_gop.html

In case you were wondering about coordinated strategies between the “nonpartisan” members of the Deficit Commission and the GOP

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/alan-simpson-deficit-plan-can-pass-after-debt-limit-blood-bath.php
The Republican co-chair of the White House's fiscal commission predicted this morning that his controversial recommendations for reducing long-term deficits will have a real opportunity to become enacted next year, when the nation brushes up against its debt ceiling, and newly elected Republicans threaten to send the country into default. . . .

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/19/921947/-Simpson-cant-wait-for-debt-limit-blood-bath

I think the GOP should definitely listen to these guys

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026718.php
In August, sleazy GOP consultant Dick Morris told a far-right group that in the next Congress, Republicans should do exactly as Gingrich/Dole did 15 years ago, but this time it'll work out better.

"There's going to be a government shutdown, just like in '95 and '96 but we're going to win it this time and I'll be fightin' on your side," Morris boasted.

Grover Norquist is giving his party the same advice. . . .

The Free Lunch Party

http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/return-of-the-free-lunch-party

This is a fight the Dems can win

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/19/921902/-The-only-way-to-lose-the-tax-cut-debate-is-to-cave

Michael Steele, desperate to save his job, says to the teabaggers: I’m your guy at the RNC!

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/michael-steele-attacks-establishment-stakes-claim-as-a-tea-party-voice-in-the-rnc.php

Sharron Angle (R-NV) was on a course of self-destruction at every stage of her feckless campaign. Here’s how bad it almost got

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/the-dumb-social-security-ad-sharron-angle-never-aired-video.php

Despite video evidence showing otherwise, the Rand Paul aide caught stepping on a woman’s head claims he was “framed”

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/kentucky-stompers-attorney-tape-shows-my-client-was-justified-video.php

Tit for tat?

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/msnbc-suspends-scarborough-for-two-days-over-political-donations.php
MSNBC Suspends Scarborough For Two Days Over Political Donations

More: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/msnbcs_dumb_policy.html

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026724.php

Bonus item: Jon Stewart does Glenn Beck (again)

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/glenn-becks-truth-suit.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

FIGHT!

Good

http://www.samefacts.com/2010/11/uncategorized/showdown/
Barack Obama has decided to take a stand on the New START treaty

More: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/new-start-and-its-discontents

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#40265281

The Dems get smart, will (finally) force a vote on middle-class tax cuts

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/are-dems-growing-brain

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/11/18/hoyer-house-will-hold-vote-on-middle-class-tax-cuts-only/

http://www.americablog.com/2010/11/hoyer-says-house-dems-will-only-vote-on.html

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/harry-reid-tries-to-box-gop-in-on-tax-cuts-vote.php

Of course

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/gop_response_vote_to_continue.html
GOP response: Vote to continue just middle class tax cuts = tax hike

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/18/921718/-As-Obama,-Reid,-and-Pelosi-meet-on-tax-cut-plan,-GOP-attacks-with-a-whimper

What voters really want

http://mydd.com/2010/11/18/no-one-cares-about-bipartisanship
Bipartisanship: Independents Couldn't Care Less

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/public_supports_letting_high_e.html
Psst. Dems? Public supports letting high end tax cuts expire

http://www.slate.com/id/2274943/
The public isn't that concerned about the budget deficit—it would prefer that politicians spend money on jobs first. . . .

A better deficit reduction plan?

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/closer-look-domenici-rivlin

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/the-domenici-rivlin-plan/

Fixing Social Security

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/does-fixing-social-security-matter

The highly selective Republican commitment to “the Constitution”

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/beck-constitutional-scholar.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/confederate-tea-cozy.html

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/11/17/bachmann_constitution_class

Where the resistance to ending DADT comes from

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/war-against-dadt-repeal
[Kevin Drum] The Marine Corps (too red-blooded for gays) and the Air Force (too evangelical Christian for gays) have always been the most opposed to repeal of DADT. We'll see who wins the war shortly.

Way behind the curve

http://www.americablog.com/2010/11/even-wash-post-is-slowly-grasping-that.html
Even Wash. Post is slowly grasping that GOPers don't want to be bipartisan

More: http://firedoglake.com/2010/11/18/hows-that-bipartisanship-working-out-for-you-mr-president/

Roger Ailes, head of Fox News, helpfully contributes to our political discourse

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/serious-media-executive-rails-against.html
Then he turned his sights on NPR executives. “They are, of course, Nazis. They have a kind of Nazi attitude. . . .” [read on]

More: http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/nprs-nazis

Bonus item: Count the ironies

http://www.slate.com/id/2275431
[Sarah Palin] "We know that Obama wasn't vetted through the campaign, and now, you know, some things are coming home to roost, if you will, which is inexperience, his associations, and that ultimately harms our republic when a candidate isn't—isn't vetted by the media, that cornerstone of our democracy."

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/18/palin_rips_american_idol.html
The Associated Press got an advance look at Sarah Palin's new book, America by Heart, and notes she blasts the television show American Idol and its "talent-deprived" contestants who suffer from "the cult of self-esteem."

Writes Palin: "No one they have encountered in their lives -- from their parents to their teachers to their president -- wanted them to feel bad by hearing the truth. So they grew up convinced that they could become big pop stars like Michael Jackson."

The irony: "The Internet has been abuzz in recent days about how Bristol Palin, who has consistently landed at the bottom of the judges' leaderboard on Dancing With the Stars, has been able to remain on the show. Some critics have suggested that voters -- particularly supporters of her mother -- have been voting in blocs and manipulating the system."

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

WHAT WILL DAVID BRODER SAY?

The end of the myth of bipartisanship

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/quote-day-partisan-war
[Thomas Mann] There is simply no basis for meaningful bipartisan leadership meetings today. Republicans are determined to defeat Obama in 2012; they have no interest in negotiating with him in order to provide him any sort of victory. This is a partisan war and the Republicans are playing to win. The only question is how long it will take Obama to accept this reality and act accordingly.

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/deficit-fantasies
Chris Beam says a bipartisan effort to reduce the deficit is probably doomed. . . .

More: http://www.slate.com/id/2275300/

Obama admits that he got gamed, rolled, and bamboozled by the GOP on health care. And whose fault is THAT, Mr. President?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/snookered-and-shellacked-what-you-get.html

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/obama_admits_quest_for_biparti.html
[Greg Sargent] I still don't get why it's not more broadly accepted that the quest for bipartisan support in particular was one of the main things that led to health reform becoming such a political liability for Dems. It allowed the process to drag on months longer than it had to, which directly led to the failure to pass reform before Scott Brown's election to the Senate. Brown's victory then allowed Republicans to argue that health reform had been repudiated by the American people before it had even passed, and forced Dems to use reconciliation to pass reform -- which in turn allowed Republicans to further sour the public on the process. . . .

Whoa

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/17/george-soros-obama_n_785022.html
George Soros Tells Progressive Donors Obama Might Not Be The Best Investment

How serious are the Repubs about REALLY making the tough choices to do something about the deficit? (I think you know the answer to that question already)

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/11/money-meet-mouth

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026683.php

Cowards

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/republicans-postpone-obama-meeting-a
Republicans postpone Obama meeting to avoid another ass-kicking, and then lie about it

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/17/reid-hits-gop-for-delayin_n_784807.html

The haters

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/judicial_watch_founder_obama_on_political_jihad_promoting_islam.php
President Barack Obama is on a "political jihad promoting Islam around the world," said Larry Klayman, the founder of the conservative group Freedom Watch USA . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/17/921382/-Ailes-on-Obama:-He-just-has-a-different-belief-system-than-most-Americans
[Roger Ailes] He just has a different belief system than most Americans. . . .

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/right-wingers-have-pushed-envelope-s
Open bigotry is acceptable again

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/17/921224/-Fox-News:-Obama-hates-America,-volume-973

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026681.php

Bye Mike

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/16/steele-isolated-at-his-ow_n_784461.html
Steele Isolated At His Own Committee, Harshly Rebuked By Former Staffers

In Texas, teabaggers form an alliance with the Christocrats

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/only-true-christians-need-apply.html

It’s OVAH in Alaska – and Sarah and the teabaggers take one on the chin

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026686.php
MURKOWSKI WINS IMPROBABLE WRITE-IN CAMPAIGN

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/17/lisa-murkowski-defeats-jo_n_784998.html

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/fox-news-neil-cavuto-to-joe-miller-do-you-feel-like-custer-right-now-video.php

Roger Ailes, head of Fox News

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/17/ailes_defends_fox_news.html
On Glenn Beck: "He and I have had conversations and lunches where I say, 'What the hell are you doing, man?'" [read on]

Bonus item: The quote Sharron Angle’s (R-NV) staff worried would get out during the election (well, she lost anyway)

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/17/extra_bonus_quote_of_the_day.html
"Sometimes dictators have good ideas."

Another buried interview: http://firedoglake.com/2010/11/17/rand-pauls-deeply-nutty-2009-interview-with-alex-jones-released/
Rand Paul’s Deeply Nutty 2009 Interview with Alex Jones Released

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

BLAME GAME

It isn’t a question of bipartisanship, it’s a question of who gets blamed for its failure

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/11/thats_the_story_galacticfail_edition.php
The Politico has a story up tonight about how and why the bipartisan, everybody-get-along summit between President Obama and congressional Republicans ended up getting postponed. . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/16/921152/-Sensing-victory-on-taxes,-GOP-moves-goalposts-of-White-House-meeting
Sensing victory on taxes, GOP moves goalposts of White House meeting

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/16/921120/-McConnell-rules-out-bipartisan-compromise-on-tax-cuts
McConnell rules out bipartisan compromise on tax cuts

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026669.php
THE LATEST (AND PROBABLY) FINAL ATTEMPT TO EXTEND JOBLESS AID

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/16/rahm_didnt_want_bipartisanship.html
Rahm Didn't Want Bipartisanship

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/in_testy_exchange_chuck_grassl.html
Here's another fascinating nugget from journalist Richard Wolffe's new book. If true, it really blows up the ridiculous claim that Obama never made any genuine effort to attract bipartisan support for health reform. . . . [read on]

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/16/kyl_shoots_down_arms_control_treaty.html
Kyl Shoots Down Arms Control Treaty

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026668.php
KYL INTENT ON DESTROYING U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

Obama: policy over politics?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/make-it-work-people-make-it-work.html

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/obamas-obsessive-focus

http://www.americablog.com/2010/11/boy-their-political-instincts-are.html

Will the Dems force a vote on a middle class tax cut?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/labor_big_white_house_dem_lead.html
White House, Dem leaders seriously mulling middle class tax cut vote

http://www.slate.com/id/2275142/
Trying to track the White House position on extending the Bush tax cuts

Of course: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/gops-top-tax-guy-republicans-will-block-permanent-middle-class-tax-cut.php
Republicans Will Block Permanent Middle-Class Tax Cut

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/republicans-defend-continued-tax-breaks-for-millionaires.php

The GOP is finding it’s really, really hard to give up earmarks

http://firedoglake.com/2010/11/16/tea-party-fail-gops-historic-ban-on-earmarks-already-history/

http://washingtonindependent.com/103641/a-leery-senate-contemplates-life-after-earmarks

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/11/16/graham_bachmann_earmarks

http://washingtonindependent.com/103579/lindsey-graham-joins-earmarks-moratorium-with-just-a-few-disclaimers

http://washingtonindependent.com/103598/senate-gop-pledges-to-forgo-earmarks-for-the-most-part

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/much-ado-about-earmarks-what-will-the-gops-ban-plan-do.php

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/anti-earmark-bachmann-open-to-earmark-redefinition-for-her-district.php

No problem here, eh?

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/activist-judge-alito-raising-money--0
Activist Judge Alito Raising Money For Right-Wing Magazine
[Susan Madrak] You will be relieved to know that SCOTUS did exempt itself from the federal judges' ethics code a few years ago, so that Justice Alito is not actually breaking any laws . . . [read on]

You think it’s easy? Try cutting the deficit yourself

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/11/15/you_fix_the_budget.html

John McCain is FOS

http://firedoglake.com/2010/11/16/early-morning-swim-john-mccain-doesnt-often-agree-with-john-mccain-reports-rachel-maddow/

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/jon-stewart-mccain-spends-a-year-on-dadt-repeal-half-an-hour-on-running-mate-video.php

John Yoo, self-appointed political commentator

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026657.php

Bonus item: The politics of “Dancing with the Stars”

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/tribal-dancing-with-stars.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

TOO LATE

The constructed crisis

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/cbs-poll-most-americans-dont-care-that-much-about-the-deficit.php
CBS Poll: Most Americans Don't Care That Much About The Deficit

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/15/920832/-Poll-finds-continuing-unemployment-insurance-trumps-deficit-concerns
Poll finds continuing unemployment insurance trumps deficit concerns

Just another Republican liar

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/cantor-spox-clarifies-check-comments-goper-made-to-netanyahu.php
Rep. Eric Cantor's office is clarifying a statement it put out last week about the meeting between Cantor, the likely next House Majority Leader, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Cantor spokesperson Brad Dayspring told The Washington Post that Cantor's comment to Netanyahu that the new Republican majority in the house 'will serve as a check on the Administration' was 'not in relation to U.S./Israel relations.' . . . [NB: yeah, uh huh]

Coulda been the Dems getting credit for this

http://washingtonindependent.com/103450/everybody-hates-earmarks
Everybody hates earmarks

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/demint-says-hes-got-the-votes-to-ban-earmarks-in-the-senate-gop.php
DeMint Says He's Got The Votes To Ban Earmarks In The Senate

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/mcconnell-caves-on-earmarks-promises-to-vote-for-moratorium.php
McConnell Caves On Earmarks, Pledges To Vote For Moratorium

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/obama-hails-mcconnells-decision-to-back-earmark-moratorium.php
Obama Hails McConnell's Decision To Back Earmark Moratorium

It’s about time

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/ginni_thomas_stepping_down_from_conservative_group.php
Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is giving up control of the Tea Party-inspired conservative advocacy group she founded just a year ago . . .

More: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/11/15/ginni_thomas_liberty_central

Cindy McCain, John’s wife, takes a brave stand against DADT (and her husband). Then she gets a visit from the heavies . . .

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/15/920647/-Cindy-McCain-flip-flops-on-repealing-DADT
Cindy McCain flip-flops on repealing DADT

The Disinformation Machine

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/stupid-things-americans-believe-thank
Stupid Things Americans Believe

More: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026650.php

Bonus item: “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” – “it’s like “The Sound of Music” but without the romance, the Nazis or the music”

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/scarce/reviews-are-sarah-palins-alaska

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE ROAD BACK

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/obama_advisers_chart_the_route.html
Obama advisers chart the route back

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026631.php
WHAT NOW?

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/11/14/obama_good_government_abramsky
Can the president convince a GOP House and angry Americans that we need more government intervention -- not less?

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/13/nation/la-na-lame-duck-20101113
Ambition is curbed, but Democrats still have a lame-duck agenda

http://washingtonindependent.com/103340/lame-duck-preview-the-last-hurrah-for-a-democratic-congress
Lame duck preview: The last hurrah for a Democratic Congress

More: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/11/14/920400/-We-cant-wait-any-longer:-Time-to-rebuild-the-Democratic-Party

Rand Paul thinks Obama was too hard on BP over the Gulf oil spill

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/rand-paul-obama-sent-wrong-signal-to-biz-during-bp-spill-video.php

Oh, the wise men and women think we’re just being juvenile

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/begging-for-grown-ups-village-thinks.html
[Digby] The disaster capitalists are using the acute crisis to scare people into destroying the safety net and giving the wealthy huge permanent tax cuts and deregulating their businesses so they can pollute, poison and steal with (even more) impunity. . . . [read on]

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/ruth-marcus-anyone-opposed-catfood-commiss

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/harold-ford-jr-advocates-cuts-social-

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/david-gergen-accuses-politicians-who-dont-

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/14/tv-soundoff-sunday-talkin_26_n_783222.html

More: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/sunday-talk-show-hosts-admit-tea-party-par

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/week-usual-suspects-push-deficit-hyst




Bonus item: It’s our fault, sorry

http://crooksandliars.com/bluegal/open-thread-518

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com).

I don't get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don't run ads, etc). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a "mission," it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***